Thread by @ErikaMorris79

With the excitement for the #IPL2023 building I’ve been looking into the data and seeing what insights it tells us. If you don’t like IPL & data I suggest you look away now 👀 for those that do buckle up as it’s a VERY long ride with some new aspects analysed.

For all players their career T20 figures were used, those who haven’t played aren’t displayed
Team battings averages - the figures for batters, wicket keepers and all-rounders have been used
Teams bowling averages - the figures for bowlers and all-rounders have been used

Let’s start with looking at the makeup of each franchise. There seems to be a growing focus on all-rounder’s with 45% of LSG’s squad being ALR. RR have 45 % of their squad as bowlers, are they going with the ‘batters win you games, bowlers win you tournaments’ approach? #IPL2023

Is the #IPL2023 a young man’s game or will the old man’s army win out again? Actually it’s KKR rather than CSK who have the oldest overall squad at 29.48yrs, MI have the youngest team with an average of 26.36. Will this experience see them have a successful #IPL2023

What of the batting average and strike rates of each team. Finally, RCB win something with the highest avg at 22.58 and the 2nd highest SR at 126.06. Despite batters like Buttler and Samson RR on the other hand have the lowest SR and average at just 107.90 and 18.6. #IPL2023

T20 cricket is all about clearing the ropes often and scoring off as many balls as possible. This next chart shows the % of balls faced that were boundaries and the % of balls faced that were scored from. It is clear to see that KKR are the intent merchants at 18.31% boundaries

Let’s look at bowling for a minute and the average and strike rates by teams. RCB have the lowest bowling average and strike rate at 21.98 and 17.33. At the other end it’s KKR, MI and SRH with the highest average and strike rate, bowling could be tough for these teams #IPL2023

Teams will expect their bowlers to keep the runs down with a decent economy rate and bowl as many dots as possible so who leads this view? It is RCB yet again topping the economy rate at just 7.42 and somewhat surprisingly MI have the best bowling dot ball % without Bumrah.

What about the best overall team? This heat map shows batting and bowling dimensions. With a strong bowling & top 3 batting figures, RCB are looking early favourites, followed by PBKS, can either of them perform under pressure? KKR on the other hand look like having a tough #IPL

Now for a dive into each teams batting and bowling. First CSK and they do have some big hitters, Devon Conway has the highest t20 batting average in the whole #IPL2023 at 43.45 and three other players at 30+. With 3 players striking at under 120 they will want to improve

Do they have big boy power to clear the ropes? Despite Dhoni and his perceived power hitting CSK have the 2nd lowest boundary %, not one single player hits more than 20% if their balls to the boundary. On the plus side as a team they have the highest scoring ball % of #IPL2023

How does their bowling fare? Well it’s a mixed bag to be honest, looking at the average though they have 6 bowlers who avg 30+ so they will need to watch the runs they give away. With 10 outright bowlers as well as their all-rounders they will have plenty of options to choose.

Economy wise it’s another mixed bag with 5 players going at more than 8 an over it tends to point to some big scores against them. The hope on the horizon is their bowlers dot ball %’s, Pathirana has the best in the whole of #IPL2023 at 59.5% of his bowls bowled.

Now let’s look at DC. In terms of SR there are the likes of Warner, Shaw, Salt and Rossouw who strike at 140+ but the avg scores are on the low side, the highest being Warner with 37. I can see a big reliance on the top order to set the tone for the rest to follow. #IPL2023

Whose going to be the big hitter for DC this year without Pant? Aman Khan has the 2nd highest boundary % in #IPL2023 at 26% of the balls he faces clearing the ropes but will he be given the chance? Figuring out the 3 overseas to accompany Warner could be key for this year

It doesn’t look as bright when you compare the dot ball % of the bowlers. They’ve the 2nd lowest number of dot balls bowled in #IPL2023 with 6 of their players (Dubey, Axar, Nagarkoti, Yadav and Marsh) all under the 40% mark. Teams could keep the scoreboard ticking against DC

Onto last years champions GT. Despite adding the experience of Williamson they seem to have managed to weaken their batting line up compared to last year. Average wise it is brought down by players like Nalkande, Yadav and Sangwan who don’t reach 20. #IPL2023

Sadly, their batting issues don’t stop there, GT also have the worst boundary % out of all #IPL2023 teams. Other than Urvil Patel not one player troubles the 20% mark, infact only 5 players manage north of 15%. One saving grace is the scoring ball %, this is the 4th best overall

Could their bowling be the aspect that saves them? Well in Rashid Khan they have the bowlers with the lowest average and strike rate of the #IPL2023 at 18.23 and 17.12. Add in the pace of Shami, Joseph and Little and we could find GT becoming a bowling team #IPL2023

There is yet more good news looking at their economy rates. With 3 of the top 5 most economical bowlers in #IPL2023 (Rahid, Kishore & Jayant Yadav) along with a few who bowl c50% of their balls as dots. I do think they will struggle to replicate their 2022 performances though

Onto our next team in KKR and they have the highest avg SR of all teams and with Russell and Gurbaz striking at 169 and 152 they sure have the power. Average wise there are just 3 players hitting the 30 mark, a few players will need to up their game for them to succeed #IPL2023

With power hitters like Russell, Wiese, Shakib and Gurbaz it’s no surprise KKR are officially the intent merchants of #IPL2023 with the highest boundary % rate, infact just under a quarter of the balls Russell faces clear the boundary. They do have the lowest scoring ball %

Does their bowling match their batting powers? In a word No. They have the highest bowling average of all teams with 6 players going at over 26. The strikes rates make better reading with 8 players taking a wicket every 20 or less balls #IPL2023

One player KKR can rely on is Sunil Narine who, despite bowling 1400 overs in his T20 career, has an economy of 5.99! Sadly this does not save KKR from having the worst econ rate in #IPL2023. Dot ball wise is a bit brighter but I predict bowling will be tough for this line up

LSG outperformed expectations in 2022. In the first two batting aspects they perform pretty well, QDK at the top with KL provides fire power to balance the anchor and a powerful middle order of Badoni, Stoinis, Pooran and Shepherd, the challenge will be fitting them all in!

Boundary strike rate wise LSG are mid table with most players sitting around the 18-19% mark. It isn’t quite as rosy when you look at the scoring ball rate despite having Prerak Mankad and the highest #IPL2023 rate at a huge 75%! I predict a mediocre mid table performance for LSG

Looking through LSG and their bowlers, they are all fairly similar other than the sky scrapper of Deepak Hoodas bowling average. Stand outs are Badoni and his average and strike rate of 14 and 9 along with Mohsin Khan’s figures of 14.1 but will he even be fit?

That is where the good news stops though, they have the 2nd worse worst economy rates & the worst dot ball % in #IPL2023 . With 6 players going at more than 8 and over and only Swapnil Singh and yet again Mohsin Khan under 7, not even Khans best dot ball % of 58.1% can save them.

After an incredibly disappointing IPL last year MI will be hoping to return to winning ways. Batting wise they have power in SKY, Kishan, David, Brevis and Stubbs but how can they fit them all in? The experience of Rohit Sharma could be key here to hold this line up together.

Unsurprisingly MI have managed to assemble a really good hitting squad coming in 2nd overall on boundary % and scoring ball %. Captain Rohit manages to score off a huge 76% of balls bowled at him with Green not far behind at 71.4% but will he even get a game?

Onto what has been MI’s strength, their bowling. The avg and SR don’t paint the best picture, only Singh and the veteran Chawla offer much hope. With Bumrah and Richardson unfit and balancing the overseas being tough, this could see MI struggling in the bowling arena

There is hope though when you dig into the second bowling aspects, Infact MI have the best dot ball % in #IPL2023 and a decent showing in the economy rates. Will we ever get to see Bumrah and Archer bowling in tandem? I’m really beginning to doubt it.

Last year PBKS just missed the playoffs, can they go one better in #IPL2023 ? Batting wise the averages look pretty good with 4 players at 30 + (Harpreet, Prabhsimran, Jitesh and Shikhar) but worryingly only 3 players strike at 135+ so some big names will need to step up

In the mega auction PBKS had a strategy picking power strikers and boundary hitters, sadly it seems this has been diluted. Despite the big hitters of Livi and Curran, only Jitesh Sharma has a boundary % over 20. On the plus side as a team PBKS have the 4th best scoring ball %

Will their bowlers win them games? On the surface it looks like it, they’ve the 2nd best avg & 4th best strike rate in #IPL2023. Add experience of Rahul Chahar and the left arm pace of Curran to an already feared seam attack of Rabada and Arshdeep you have a recipe for success

Can a pace heavy attack result in runs being freely scored? It seems PBKS have struck a good balance with the 2nd best economy rate. With so many overseas all-rounders I suspect the rising star Kaverappa will get a few games. PBKS have really set themselves for success this year.

RR were languishing in 8th statistically so let’s find out why. Despite big hitters like Buttler, Samson, Hetmyer and Padikkal as a team their avg and SR is the lowest in the #IPL2023 . Some of these names will have to show they have the staying power to make a difference

All isn’t lost for RR fans though as the team are 3rd in the scoring ball % stakes, partially due to Kunal Rathore scoring from a huge 75% of the balls that are bowled at him. Sadly the boundary % stats dot make as good reading with only Jaiswal managing above 20%

Could their bowling be the aspect that saves them? To be honest their all-rounders really distort their averages making it look worse than they actually are. At the time of writing this no replacements have been named for Krishna so this decision could be crucial

In Ashwin and Cariappa they have one of the lowest economies in #IPL2023 and with the likes of Boult and Chahal, this should provide the core of a good bowling unit. With Riyan Parag having one of the worst dot ball % overall – just 28% - lets hope RR don’t need him to bowl

What of my beloved RCB who were saw were statistically #IPL2023 best team. In Finn Allen they have the highest SR in the #IPL2023 at a huge 171.65 and 12 players at 130+. With experience from Virat, Faf and Karthik & the power of Maxwell this looks a superb batting line up

RCB have the 3rd best boundary % with Allen, Harshal and Manoj all hitting at over 20% of balls faced. Other than a couple of players everyone scores off more than 70% of the balls faced. I might be biased but it really could be fireworks watching RCB bat this #IPL2023

Will the bowlers be able to win them the games though? Actually the bowling is even better than the batting! As a team they have the lowest bowling average and strike rate with 10 players below 25, meaning we should see frequent wickets and lower scores posted

The good news keeps coming as RCB have the best economy rate too. The spin of Bracewell and Hassaranga alongside the fiery Siraj, the ever-effective Hazelwood (if fit) and Harshal, on paper this attack should really strangle teams and prevent them from scoring #IPL2023

SRH had a clear out and have rebuilt but did they pick smart? Batting wise they seem to have made some good choices with Brook, Phillips, Klassen and Mayank to support new captain Markram. They actually have the 2nd best batting average of all teams in #IPL2023

Do they have the big boy power to pepper the boundary? They sit around mid table in the boundary strike rate with most players around the 18% figure. SRH will be looking at how they can get Sanvir into their line up with the highest scoring ball % in #IPL2023 at a huge 83%

SRH bowling is a bit of a mixed bag. Looking at the averages figures there are 5 players around the 30 mark and with only 4 players shaving a strike rate of under 20 (Sharma, Markande, Natarajin and Umran), we could see long run filled spells between wickets

The outlook improves when you look at the economy and dot ball %. Both Umram and the vastly underrated Hosein bowl 50% dot balls with Bhuvi, Farooqi & Jansen just behind. Will the relative inexperience impact them or is this the year we see things turn around for them? #IPL2023

Does T20i experience translate into the IPL? Well KKR will be hoping so as they are out infront with an average of 27 T20i caps across their players. On the other hand, MI players have an average of just 13 T20i caps per player. Could this inexperience be their undoing? #IPL2023

How valuable is knowing the pressures of the #IPL2023 ? This time it’s LSG who top this at 46 IPL games per player with KKR just behind at 45. On the other end of the scale it’s SRH whose squad have only played an average of 22 games per player, will this hold them back?

Franchise cricket is growing worldwide so what does that domestic t20 games per player look like? You guessed it yet again it is KKR with an average of 158 games per player, way ahead of GT in second with 123. MI are the green fields of #IPL2023 with just 82 games per player

Who are the experienced campaigners in #IPL2023 that teams will want to guide their younger players? It’s the old campaigner Sunil Narine with 440 T20 games, closely followed by DreRuss at 431. Interestingly 3 of the top 5 are KKR players.

Let’s focus on batting stats for a couple of tweets. So much emphasis is put on left/right hand batting combinations, are there enough lefties to go around? PBKS certainly have their fair share with 41% of their players being lefties. GT and SRH have the lowest at just 20%. #IPL

We know that West Indies have a reputation of being big hitters but it’s the ENG players who lead best strike rate by country at just over 133, just ahead of NZ. Looking at averages then our top 2 reverse with NZ taking it at 24.99 and ENG at 24.42. CSK have 5 ENG and NZ players

Which countries players will send the ball flying over the ropes? Taking out 1 player countries then it’s super close but ENG just win at 17.99%, IND are the lowest at 16%. If you want to maximise each ball then its the AUS players with the highest scoring ball % at 66.1%

Are spinners the bowlers to have in a #IPL2023 team? It is the rarer Left arm pace bowlers like Boult, Mohsin, Little and the Fizz who have the best average and strike rate. Surprisingly it is the right arm off break bowlers who have the highest figures on these bowling aspects.

Which bowlers do you want for econ and dot balls? Well no surprises here but it’s the slow left arm orthodox players (Axar, Kuldeep, Shakib, Hosein) with the lowest econ at just 6.88. If you want dot balls then it’s the left armers (Boult, Mohsin, Little and the Fiz) yet again.

What about the bowling figures by country? The lowest average and strike rate bowling figures actually goes to Bangladesh at 21.36 and 18.17 with SL just behind. India have the highest figures, what will this look like after the tournament I wonder?

Which country are the miserly bowlers who refuse to give away runs? Well CSK will be happy as it’s the Sri Lankans at just 6.91 runs per over. If you want dot balls then it is the West Indians like Russel, Narine, Mayers and Hosein putting in figures of 49%

Does age have an impact on batting ability? If you want big hitters who have staying power then look no further than the older statesman, the 36-year olds (Warner, Moeen and Rohit) who will give you a strike rate of 135.40 and average of 28.84 #IPL2023

Looking at best scoring ball rate,it’s those experienced 36-yr olds again at 67.17%, just pipping the 24 yr into second place. The intent merchants are the 35 yr olds though with Narine, DreRuss % Wade clearing the boundary with 19.7% of the balls they face.

Equally what’s the optimum bowling age that #IPL2023 teams are going to want? Well avoid the 20, 21 and 22 year olds with their poor figures, you want the 24 year olds (Arshdeep, Ul-Haq and Mavi) who have the best average and strike rate across #IPL2023.

For our last graph lets look at the economy and dot ball % by age. Again it’s our old campaigners the 37 year olds – Ashwin and Raza) who will give you economy at 7.19 just ahead of the 36 year olds. If you are after dot balls then the 27 year olds at an impressive 51%

Finally, a little poll for some fun. There are 241 players listed with teams in #IPL2023 but which is the most occurring first (Christian) name across all the players

Before I wrap up, I know the IPL isn’t for everyone and there will be debates on which league is the best. This thread isn’t about that, it is about looking for trends in cricket data and nothing more so please don’t turn it into something else 

Well for those of you who are still here and saw it through to the end – THANK YOU! I know there is a lot but hopefully it gives you a bit of insight into each team, their chances and might help with those last minute fantasy team picks. Now lets see what the #IPL2023 brings us

Slight edit as the original table was not formatted correctly meaning the names were not readable